What Is Lasso Medicare?

This article is about Lasso Medicare and how it works. I decided to write about it for the people that reside in the Brownsville-Harlingen-McAllen area because not many know about this Medicare option.

Lasso Healthcare’s Medical Savings Account (MSA) is a Medicare option that started in 2019. Lasso MSA is the largest in the market right now and is represented in 26 states including Texas.

The Lasso Healthcare MSA plan is a $0 premium and a high deductible healthcare product underwritten by Lasso. If you choose this Medicare option…you still have to pay the Medicare Part B premium ($148.50 for 2021).

This plan is attractive to some people because it highlights 4 key pillars that will never change:

1. There are no networks.
2. It’s $0 premium.
3. There’s no prescription drug plan included. You can purchase that seperately.
4. You get an annual deposit ($2,000 or $3,000 for 2021 in the Rio Grande Valley area).

With this plan you can see any doctor that accepts Medicare.

The MSA also does not charge a premium in order to be a part of Lasso. It is free to be a part of it as long as you are enrolled and pay for your part B Medicare premium.

MSAs don‘t have a drug coverage included in the plan. You would have to enroll in a separate part D drug plan. You can do this by going to Healthcare site Healthcare.gov and enroll there or I can help you and decide which is the best part D plan for you and the medications you currently are taking.

There is an annual deposit. An MSA will always come with an annual deposit into the savings account. For 2021, the annual deposit is $2,000 or $3,000 in the Brownsville-McAllen area.

Just so you know where the money comes from…it comes from the government. It is paid to Lasso to pass it on to their clients to be deposited into their debit card.

MSAs have a high deductible. So it is not necessarily right for everyone. I’ll talk about what type of client is right for this product in a bit. But for 2021, the deductible is $7,400 in the Brownsville-Harlingen-McAllen area (Region 1).

Ok, as you know, Lasso deposits money into the MSA account at the beginning of every year. IF the client doesn’t use all the funds in a given year…the funds roll over to the next year. It is not a use it or lose it.

Now if you decide the following year not to enroll into Lasso…THOSE FUNDS ARE STILL YOURS TO KEEP! You still have to report it to the IRS as if you were part of the MSA.

What happens when you sign up?

The client will get a welcome packet, a debit card that is linked up to the Lasso MSA account, and a health plan membership ID card. These three items might be shipped separately.

What Happens at Tax Time?

If you use any of the funds from the MSA account, they will need to file an IRS Form 8853 and a Form 1040 at tax time.

They’ll also receive a 10099-SA from Optum Bank (the debit card bank) reporting the account distributions by the end of January. The Optum Bank will also report it on their end.

What happens if I pass away?

If you die, whatever is left in your MSA account will go to your beneficiary. If it is your spouse, there is no tax penalty. If not, ordinary income would apply to the person receiving it.

Your funds will be kept at Optum Bank and there are no fees associated with the MSA.

Optum bank will provide the forms to you every year to file your taxes.

What does Lasso Medicare cover?

Lasso will cover everything that is medicare eligible. The members are responsible to all medical bills up to their high deductible amount. Once the member reaches the deductible amount…Lasso will cover everything for the remainder of the year.

So the real risk is the “member responsibility.”

Again, Lasso will cover all Medicare Part A & B approved. Some good news is that there is some kind of freedom you have before you have to pay the full deductible. For instance, if you need to go see your primary doctor…whatever payment given to the doctor will count towards the deductible. So you deductible gets smaller as you use your card.

So All Medicare covered expenses will count towards the deductible and are not taxed by the IRS.

Qualified medical expenses (like prescription drugs, dental visits, etc…) will not count towards the deductible. But it is still considered tax free and won’t be penalized by the IRS.

Non-qualified expenses (like a new television) will not be counted towards the deductible and will be subject to pay taxes to the IRS. So lets just keep this for medical emergencies, lol.

How much do medical services cost since Medicare isn’t the one paying?

To tell you some great news! Lasso members will not pay the full retail price for any medical service.

Members will only pay the cost of what Medicare would pay.

IDEAL MSA CLIENT PROFILE

I would like to mention an ideal client for the Lasso Medicare plan.

1. The client is healthy.
2. The client is able to handle the difference between the deposit and the deductible (member responsibility).
3. The client is un-insurable for a Medicare supplement, but is still healthy.

I believe (my opinion) that this option is great for people who are at least somewhat healthy and are financially stable. The reason why is because I am a bit worried about the deductible. If you don’t have enough money in your debit card then you do have to pay off the member responsibility on your own.

In summary…The client must:

1. Be Medicare eligiblie
2. Live in a Lasso Healthcare MSA service area (We do in the Rio Grande Valley)
3. Not have any other coverage that would cover the MSA plan deductible (employer benefits, TRICARE, the VA, or FEHBP)
4. Not be eligible for Medicaid (people on Medicaid have better options anyway)
5. Not be utilizing Medicare Hospice
6. Not have end-stage renal disease (that’s going to change in 2020)

Thank you for reading the article. If you have any questions and need more clarification…contact me!